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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. firm — steady
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rash — a series
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. net — in sport
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. degree — from a university
  12. net — for catching
  13. swing — in golf
  14. firm — a company
  15. wound — an injury
  16. firm — decided
  17. rash — hasty
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. degree — temperature
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. swing — music
  23. wound — an injury
  24. swing — to play on

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com